Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) appointed Tamim Iqbal as the ODI captain on Sunday, ending the speculations hovering over the country’s cricket fraternity.
The BCB president Nazmul Hassan Papon declared the outcome after a four- hour long ‘Board of Directors’ meeting at the board’s headquarter at Sher-e- Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur.
He said the opener was given the captaincy for ‘long term’ after the board scrutinized all other options.
“The board has decided to appoint Tamim Iqbal as the new captain of Bangladesh’s ODI format,” Papon said here on Sunday.
“He was not given the captaincy for any specific time. He was in fact given the role for long term.”
The issue was the center of attraction since the board president said they would appoint a new captain for ODI format, eying to build a team for the 2023 World Cup.
The issue further gained the momentum when Mashrafe Bin Mortaza announced his decision to step down from the captaincy, stating he would play just as general player in the team. Mashrafe however emphasized on giving someone captaincy for long term so that he gets enough time to build the team.
Tamim Iqbal led the side in three-match ODI series in Sri Lanka, shortly after the World Cup due to the injury of Mashrafe Bin Mortaza. Bangladesh was whitewashed in that series, prompting the critics to question Tamim’s ability as the captain.
Before that he led the side on and off in Test and ODI format also. He was also one of the policy makers of the team for a long time. But this is the first time he was given captaincy role permanently.
The BCB chief however didn’t explain any specific reason as to why they appointed Tamim as the ODI captain when there are some other senior players available to lead the side.
“At first we thought we would appoint someone captain for short term and we’ll change it after one year. But later we changed the decision and thought, whoever gets is should get it for long time,” he said.
“Yes there was some other candidates. Some didn’t want to take it or not interested. Board considered all of the options and decided that Tamim Iqbal will be captain.”
